Fireside Chats
by Quinga
Summary: A series of pieces. Evenings spent by the fireside with certain Muses. Please review, am trying to perfect convo writing! Chap 1 up.


A/N: This is going to be the longest Author's note I have ever written, so you may want to make a sandwich or something. It's ok. I'll wait.

Ok. Done? Great! Let's go on.

Let's start with the generic disclaimer. I'm not Tolkien, characters do not belong to me, I am making no money. Please don't sue me. You wouldn't get anything anyway.

This fic, or, rather, series of fics will serve multiple purposes.

Firstly, I have had many really lovely reviews from people, asking me to write longer pieces. Honestly, I have tried, and at this point, I just don't have it in me. So…many small fics all strung together longer fic, right? Ok, maybe not…

Second, if I am to attempt a larger piece at a later date, it will almost certainly involve dialogue. I am HORRID at writing dialogue. I really don't know what my problem is, since I am certainly not lacking conversational skills (I hear the phrase "Do you ever shut up?" quite a lot, actually.), but, alas, I'm lousy at writing out a simple convo. I can never figure out where to put the breaks, or start a new paragraph, or anything. It never ends up looking right to me. So this piece will also act as practice for me.

"Fireside chats" will be a series of evenings spent with my Muses. Sometimes stories will be told, sometimes fights will be had, sometimes we might sit and stare at each other. I will leave it up to the reader to try and figure out which Muse is the star of each chat. If you find yourself stumped, you can always check out my previous works for a hint. Don't worry, they aren't very long ;)

Some will be written from the Muse's POV, some will be written from my POV. Please feel free to send me comments, spam, cheese danishes, whatever.

Lastly, but most certainly not least, I would like to thank the people that have stopped and taken the time to leave me their encouragement, comments, and giggles in the past. I truly appreciate it.

As always, much love to chief encouragement giver, Beta Goddess, and Squishie, Tenshi Androgynous. Thanks for everything, Meldonya!

We now return you to your regularly scheduled fic.

Fireside Chats 1

We sat in front of our newly kindled fire, at a loss. We both fidgeted nervously, though we were of course no strangers to one another.

I do not remember now who came up with the idea of an evening alone, for each of us, with her, but at the time it had seemed a splendid plan. Now, however, as we sat awkwardly NOT looking at one another, I began to have second thoughts. What, exactly, did I hope to accomplish from this time together, just the two of us? I knew I had to do or say something soon, so I blurted out the first thing to come to mind.

"I was around before the sun, you know," I said to her. She looked at me, confusion registering in her eyes for just a second, then her face relaxed.

" I suppose I knew that…" she said, "but it's hard to remember that there was a time when there was no sun."

"I remember it well," I whispered.

Shaking off my nervousness, I gathered her close and tipped her face towards me, so that I could see her eyes. I love to see the faces of the very young when telling them about how things used to be. The awe in their eyes, sometimes even disbelief...it makes it fresh and new to me again as well.

"I remember the way the starlight looked, as it filtered through the branches and down onto the forest floor. I remember how it drifted down to light upon the dancing waters of the river that flowed near my home. I remember how everything, the trees, grass, even animals seemed to be kissed with silver dew. The world was more beautiful then.

"Sometimes, the halls of Menegroth would be lit with tiny candles, mimicking the stars. We would gather before the King, in the great hall, and form a procession. Elu and his lady would lead us into the forest, and we would spend hours, singing to the stars, dancing, and giving thanks to Varda for her creations.

"I remember times _before_ Doriath, during the great march, when all the hosts of the Eldar spread out for miles before and behind, when we marched on in silence, each with his own thoughts of what the blessed realm may hold for him…and suddenly, a voice alone in the sea of Quendi would take up the song. One voice alone, but then, slowly, more would join, till it seemed all the world sang to the stars. We would cease our march, and turn our eyes to the heavens, to that which we loved most.

"Then came the sun, and since, all the world has changed.

"At first, we were in awe of the sun. We said 'Look what the Valar have wrought for us!', but after a time, we became weary of the harsh, stark light. In those early days, before Arien knew well her course, Anar would come too close and scorch the earth. Some feared that one day, all the world would be set ablaze.

"I held no such fear myself, but still, I longed for the time when the stars were ever visible, and the glow of the earth and our bodies seemed brighter."

"But…" she started, "but didn't the sun make it easier to hunt Morgoth's beasts?"

"Nay, though it did allow us some respite, as many would not come out into the daylight. However, neither did many of us."

I laughed at my own joke, causing her to giggle and press her face against me.

I leaned in and whispered to her, conspiratorially"You know, at one point a few years ago" (at this, she snorted, muttering something about the Elvish idea of 'a few years'…they're odd that way, Humans)" I considered moving to Alaska. I hear they have darkness for 6 months of the year. It would be just like old times"

At this she began to laugh in earnest, rocking back and forth, and making some rather distressing nasal sounds.

"You…would...look...like hell…in a...parka!" she gasped out between fits of laughter. I was forced to agree with her there, and fought to stifle my own laughter at the mental image of myself in a furry coat and seal skin boots, driving a dog sled across the tundra.

It was long before we caught our breath completely. Afterwards, for a time, we sat in silence. I poked at the remnants of our log idly. Soon our fire would be no more, and our evening together completed. I leaned forward and blew on the coals, hoping to coax a few more minutes out of it, but to no avail. Slowly, the last few embers dwindled and died.

She scooted closer to me, and wrapped her arms around my neck.

"Will you tell me about Elwë?" she whispered.

"Next time, dearest. Next time."


End file.
